Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1887-08-22
A F0RGER's Wall.
Clement ConsoIing Duped
Creditors with Great
Promises.
a Letter from The Sanotimonious
Bank Wrecker---Recising His
Bad Deeds and His
Downfall.

baHtbIONa, N. L., aug. GU.-De-
faulter Reuben P. Clement, of Leaven-
worth, Kan, was formerly a resident of
Fredonia, this county. Upwards of $780,
600 were placed in Clements hands by
Fredonia residents, many of them being
laboring men and widows. Clements
defalcation created a great sensation in
this vicinity. Chauncey Abbey, OF Free
donna, one of Clements victims, received
Tho following letter:
CANADA, Aug. 8, 1ss7.-DEAR SIR:
Regretting a thousand times moro than
you Can the series of misfortunes that
have followed for the past Ave years and
which have at last resulted SO disast.
rously, n without going into the de-
tails at this time, which l have written
to w. FL. Hooker and requested him to
forward to You, I will simply say, as I
calculate it, il judiciously managed, the
outcome will be a loss OF from 90 to 81
Per cent. to tbs stockholders. There are
but $50, 600 of the stock, as after / re-
turned to Leayenworth last winter I was
compelled to pay off $40, 600 in order to
carry out the change, which l hoped to
make up In Jeavenworth which repre-
sents thea amount we lost through letting
n Trapier have funds to deal i'll wheat.
I propose to call it 80 per cent. and as
sumo one-half of it and have Mr.. Stone
assume ope-half. Thirty per cent. on
your 81, 900 is s $1,000, one-half of which is
$500, which | shall assume as my debt
and which will be pail sooner or later. I
do not propose TO lie DOWN and die, nor to
give up the battle until | stand even
with the world. l nave made mistakes
and lost my property and caused others
temporary loss, but not permanent.
II can imagine how many of you will
ridicule the idea of my paying these
things, out l want you to understand
that they are going to be paid, and when
my half is paid, If Mr.. Stone has not his
paid up l shall turn in and help him. +
can work now with ten times the cour-
age and energy could when I was living
in constant dread and worry. I never
once dreamed of letting my associates
suffer any losses in the end. OF course
you have all lost confidence in me, but
the most of you will live to see that I
mean what say. My good wife bears
the trouble much better than l thought
she could, and is ready to take hold of
any work that will help IA out. L ex-
pect we shall go into some large town
and keep a boarding house to support the
family, SO / can apply all my earnings to
the payment OF this debt. I have no
doubt / could do better in thu United
States, but my wife's people are all here
except n brother in Kansas; besides, I
suppose there is such a bitter feeling
there that some would be ready to shoot
me or hire some n to do it.
II tell you / counted the cost before I
made the move, and / came to the concIu-
sion that it was the only way ] could get
ont, and that could not carry the load I
was carrying and the interest on 1t, as it
WAS growing worse all the time, and I
knew it better to stop now while there
would be something left, and while I
knew 1t would have a bad look for zee
to go away, yet l could not bear to fail
and remain among the people who be-
lieved me in so much better circumstan-
ces than / really was. The papers say
the worst feature of the matter is that the
depositors, who are working people, viii
lose their money. This is impossible.
They won't lose a cent, and / thank God
for 1t. / tell you, Mr.. Abbey, / don't
want to harm or wrong any living person,
and will not If my life's work and that of
my family can prevent it; and If L can't
pay this debt while living (bat I know I
CAM ! can pay II with the life insurance
| carry. The worst feature of the case is
that l stand before the world to-day
branded as a thief, which is a lie, and /
will prove 1T one Of these days. ] don't
propose to leave my children the inherit
ance of a disgraced name. ]. never felt
the strength to work that / do now, and
never had the incentive that | have now.
! cannot tell where You can write to me,
as 1 shall be on the tramp until / find q
place to locate, but If you wish to write
to me You can address the letter to my
wife any time within two weeks at Mill
haven, Ontario, Canada, and she can for
ward it to me wherever l may be. !.
Yours truly, r. P. CLEMENT"